SCENES FROM THE SADDLE. 



although farmers in increasing numbers own their farms, the 

 percentage of those who object to hounds crossing their land 

 is a very small one. The chief tangible cause for complaint is 

 damage arising from loss of poultry by foxes, and although 

 every claim for compensation that is put forward may be 

 thoroughly genuine, they on the whole probably do not cover 

 the losses sustained. This was eminently the case during the 

 war years, when out of consideration for the absence of most of 

 the members of hunts, hardly any claims were presented. There 

 are districts in which hunting appears to be indigenous, and 

 others where it is an artificial adjunct, in varying degrees, and 

 it is possible that in the latter some of these reflections may not 

 wholly apply. 



The rider during his journey will probably know moments 

 of contemplation and apprehension as to the possible experi- 

 ences of the day. There is an element of anticipatory excite- 

 ment, almost subconscious, attached to fox-hunting which, 

 although it is the impelling force of the moment, and without 

 which the rider would stay at home, may become unpleasantly 

 acute. Will hounds run over a line of country bristling with 

 difficulties that will place too great a strain on a small stock of 

 courage ? Or worse, will one not really formidable obstacle at 

 the beginning be shirked and the hunt be lost to view in con- 

 sequence for what appears to be an interminable length of time, 

 or for the rest of the day ? 



There is, however, one consoling thought always at 

 command, that it is only requisite or possible to deal with one 

 difficulty at once, one fence at a time, out of the fifty imaginary 

 obstacles that crowd together in the picture ; the daily path of 

 life in miniature. The rider's thoughts are apt to turn in a 

 natural sequence to the horse, his all-important partner. If 

 he is old and tried, but not too old, well and good ; if young 

 and unknowing, a certain amount of apprehension is justified. 



